Marcelo Mayer is now formally the Pink Sox shortstop (for now, anyway) however there are rather a lot fewer questions on his glove than there are his bat. And in relation to his bat, it isn’t arduous to pinpoint the place the problems lie: “He’s 1 for 35 since his call-up on changeups, a .029 common that’s the worst within the huge leagues. He’s 2 for 34 on “shadow zone” pitches close to or simply under the underside of the strike zone, together with 1 for 19 this season.“ (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
There have been fewer questions on Masataka Yoshida’s bat this season, however nonetheless loads of questions on how he matches into the lineup. Because of this, he has a predictably sanguine perspective about the potential of getting traded. “It’s a part of the sport, proper? If it occurs, it occurs,” he mentioned. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Contemplating the truth that the Pink Sox are dead-last within the league in runs scored, we shouldn’t be targeted on buying and selling away hitters, anyway. And certainly, we’re beginning to hear whispers that the Pink Sox are “searching for a right-handed bat” on the commerce market. (Lauren Campbell, MassLive)
Any deal for giant league expertise would probably imply sending prospects out of the system, so it’s a superb time to learn up on Keith Regulation’s newest scouting report on a couple of notable Sox names. Right here’s what he has to say about much-hyped 2025 draftee Kyson Witherspoon, who has struggled to this point in single-A: “If I had zero historical past on the man in any respect, I’d say he’s a really probably reliever — he doesn’t repeat his supply, his command is a forty five at greatest (on the 20-80 scouting scale) and neither the slider nor cutter is an out pitch but. Given how a lot the Pink Sox have modified him, nonetheless, I’m inclined to provide him a whole lot of slack. Altering an arm motion like it is a huge deal and it’d take him a lot of the 12 months to get comfy with it.” (Keith Law, The Athletic)
So it seems like Witherspoon isn’t going to repeat Payton Tolle’s feat of breaking into the massive leagues in his very first season of professional ball. That’s by no means a knock on Witherspoon, as (a) nearly nobody does that, and (b) Tolle simply appears to be an incredible individual throughout, as evidenced by the truth that he seeks out autographs from nearly everybody he meets. “The largest factor proper now could be simply appreciating the place I’m at. Being part of this group — it sounds cliché, however it’s an honor.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
